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59th Congress, ) SENATE. j Document 

M Session. j j No. 217. 



PRESERVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS. 




Mr. Gallixger presented the following. 

PETITION FROM THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF COLONIAL DAMES 
OF AMERICA IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PRAYING FOR 
THE PRESERVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS, WITH INDORSE- 
MENTS FROM SEVERAL STATES. 



February 13, 1906. — Referred to the Committee on Forest Reservations- and tlie Pro- 
tection of Game and ordered to be printed. 



To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in 
Congress assembled: 

The National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the District 
of Colimiliia, viewing- with deep concern the steadily increasing 
encroachment upon the Falls of Niagara which threatens, if continued, 
to partially if not entirely destro}^ the beauty of one of the sublimest 
of Nature's handiworks, respectfully present this petition to your 
honorable Congress. 

Since the earliest days, when first seen by the French explorers, 
this great cataract has been the wonder of the civilized world, inspir- 
ing pilgrims from every clime with reverential thoughts of the Divine 
Hand that created it. Our own people have regarded it with feelings 
of special pride and venei'ation and have looked with awe upon its 
mighty rush of waters. 

Of late years the idea of utilizing the Falls for manufacturing pur- 
poses has gained ground so rapidly that many fear this great natural 
wonder will, at no distant day, be stripped of its majestic beautj' if 
not entirely destroyed. 

Steps must lie taken, and promptly, if we would prevent this, and 
this society appeals to you as the representatives of the whole country 
for assistance. 

If it be charged that sentiment prompts our petition, the answer is, 
"Yes, the sentiment of patriotism;" the sentiment that inspires love 
of native land and everything of beauty and grandeur therein; the 
sentiment that desires to preserve every object of nature that will 
awaken noble thoughts and inspire deeper love of country. 

Our God has made this a land of lofty mountains, deep rivers, bound- 
less plains, of noble forests and great lakes, with other evidences that 
would tend to the belief that it is His favored handiwork. And in all 



r ' M 

2 ■ PRESERVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS. 

our borders there is no object that creates so reverential and so lasting 
an impression as this ffiant water, with its irresistible torrent and 
deep thunders. It is this sentiment of patriotism, this admiration for 
the beautiful, the desire that our people maj' love their country and 
its great natural wonders more and more, that inspires our appeal. 

While we appreciate that rights have become vested under grants 
and franchises from the State of New York and from private pro- 
prietors with which perhaps no interference could be had by right of 
eminent domain, yet we believe that the reclamation and future pro- 
tection of the Falls, for the reasons above set forth, is a matter of 
national importance, which should, and we feel sure will, so appeal to 
jj^our honorable body that you will do anything and everything in your 
power to save from further destruction, even if j^ou can not reclaim, 
this pride of our country and of our people. 

We therefore earnestly appeal to 3^ou to take such action in the 
premises as may be within the power and prerogative of Congress to 
save for our country and for future generations, this awe-inspiring 
and'patriotism-in«tilling masterpiece of a Divine Hand. 

Witness the hand of the president and secretar}- and the seal of our 
society this 31st day of January, anno Domini, 1906. 
[seal.] Britannia W. Kennon, 

I^resident. 
Mary Jesup Blair, 

Vice-I^resident. 
Ellen C. de Q. Woodbury, 

Second Yice- President. 
Harriet Selden Heth, 

Treasurer. 
Sally C. M. Fendall, 

Registrar. 
Clare G. Addison, 

Chairman of Committee. 
Anne Cropper. 
Violet Blair Janin. 
Attest: 

Sabella B. Bryson Taylor, 

Seai'etary, 



Petitions indorsing the action of the Colonial Dames of the District 
of Columbia and signed by the presidents and officers of the Colonial 
Dames societies of the following States: Alabama, Florida, Illinois, 
Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New 
Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Penns3dvania, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and 
national officers. 



« PRESEEVATION OF NIAGAEA FALLS. 3 

«=> 
o ALABAMA. 

^ Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 

society this 1st day of February, A. D. 1906. 
A. Mrs. HoRTENSE A. Batre, 

uT P7'esident^ Mohile^ Ala. 

Mrs. Harvey E. Jones, 

Vice-President^ Spring Hill., Ala. 
Mrs. Mary Kent Fowekes, 

Vice-President., Selraa^ Ala. 
Belle Sumter Roberts, 
Vice-President., Birmingham., Ala. 

FLORIDA. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society this 1st day of February, A. D. 1906. 
[seal.] Henrietta Shoemaker Christopher, 

President. 
LiLLiE E. Goodloe Rannie, 

Recording Secretary. 

ILLINOIS. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society, this 1st da}^ of February, A. D. 1906. 
^^ Mrs. Luther W. Bodman, 

Fi7'st Vice-President. 
Miss Alice G. Kerfoot, 

Second Vice-President. 
Mrs. Cyrus Bentley, Jr., 

Recording Secretary. 
Mrs. Robert B. Gregory, 

Corresponding Secretary. 
Mrs. William T. Potwin, 

RegistraT. 
Mrs. Chauncey Keep, 

Treasurer. 
Miss Frederika Skinner, 

Historian. 
Mrs. Janet H. Ayer, 

Director. 



PEESEEVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS. 



INDIANA. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
societ}^ tliis 20th day of January, A. D. 1906. 

Sakah Fletcher Wagner (Mrs. Theodore A.), 

President. 
Rebecca Raymond Adams (Mrs. Geo. F. Adams), 

First Vice-President. 
Margaret -Dwight Edwards Chislett (Mrs. F. W. Chislett), 

Second Yice- President. 
Edith Fletcher Churchman (Mrs. Edward M.), 

Recording Secretary. 
Jane Findlay Torrence ^jargent (Mrs. Christopher T.) 

Corresponding Secretary. 

Elise Wills Buckingham Darlington (Mrs. Frank G.), 

Treasurer. 

Fanny Ramsay Wilder Winchester (Mrs. Wilbur F.), 

Registrar-. 

Ella Butler Lathrop Gavin (Mrs. Frank E.), 

Historian. 

KENTUCKY, 

Witness the hand of our president and secretaiy and the seal of our 
societ}^ this 22d day of January, A. D. 1906. 

[seal.] Mrs. Simon Bolivar Buckner, 

President. 
Mrs. Helen Bruce, 

Vice- Pres iden t . 
Mrs. Thomas Speed, 

Corresjxjn ding Secretary. 
Mrs. John W. Green, 

Registrar. 
Mrs. Henry Burnett, 

Historian. 

Mrs. C. BONNYCASTLE ROBINSON, 

Recording Secretary. 
Mrs. H. Percy Semple, 

Treasurer. 

MAINE. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretaiT and the seal of our 
society this 16th day of January, A. D. 1906. 

[seal.] Mrs. William Addison Houghton, 

President. 
Mrs. William Henry Fenn, 

Vice-President. 
Mrs. Frederic Henry Gerrish, 
Vice-President., Recording Secretary pro. tern. 



PRESEEVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS. 



MASSACHUSETTS. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 

society this — day of , A. D. 1906. 

[seal.] Edith Greenough Wendell, 

President. 
AiM^E Sargent, 

First Vice-President. 
Maria Louisa Davis, 

Second Vice-President. 
Madeleine Lawrence, 

Corresponding Secretary. 
Sarah S. Pulkins, 

Recording Secretary. 

MINNESOTA. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretar}^ and the seal of our 
society this 1st day of Februaiy, A. D. 1906. 

[seal.] Helen A. Gilman Notes, 

President. 
H. Caroline Bovey, 

Second Vice-President. 
Mary H. Edgerton, 

Secretary. 
Helen B. Keith, 

Ty'easurer. 
Anna J. Cleveland, 

Genealogist. 

MISSOURI. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society this ITth day of January, A. D. 1906. 

Mary H. L. Shields, 

President. 
Charlotte E. Eliot, 

Second Vice- President. 
Elizabeth H. Delafield, 

Recording Secretary. 
Juliet S. Finney, . 

Corresponding Seer eta ry. 
Martha L. Wyman, 

Treasurer. 
Lilla D. Spencer. 
Helen S. Shapleigh. 



PBESEEVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society this 31st day of January, A. D. 1906. 

Martha Cillet Bouton Clarke, 

President. 
Hariet E. Garten, 

Treasurer. 
Mary A. P. White, 

Historian. 
Elizabeth Coffin Sawyer, 

Correspo7\ ding Secretary . 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

Witness the hand of our president and secreta,ry and the seal of our 
society this 26th day of Januar}^, A. D. 1906. 

Mrs. Gaston Stearns, 

President. 
Mrs. George W. Kidder, 
Mary Fairfax Gouverneur, 

Correspon ding Secretaries. 
Mrs. James Sprunt, 

Vice-President. 
Mrs. Peter M. Wilson, 

Representative. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Witness the hand of the president and secretary of the South Caro- 
lina Society of the Colonial Dames and the seal of our society this 16th 
day of January, A. D. 1906. 
[seal.] Adele p. Vander Horst, 

Presid€7it. 
Harriet E. Howe, 

Sec7'etary. 
Emma T. Warring, 

Treasurer. 
Helen R. Blacklock, 

Recording Secretary. 
Emma Drayton-Grunke, 
* Yice- President. 



PRESERVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS. 



NEW YORK. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society this 6th day of March, A. D. 1906. 

[seal.] Catharine Van Rensselaer Atterbury, 

President. 
Anne Wiggin Sherman, 

Registrar. 
Grace Elmendon Carr, 

Treasurer. 
Edith Parker Stienson, 

Recording Secretai^y. 

OHIO. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society this 19th day of January, A. D. 1906. 

Mrs. Herman J. Groesbeck, 

President. 
Mrs. Davis C. Anderson, 

Corresjxmding Secretary. 
Mrs. George W. Martin, 

Recording Secretary. 
Mrs. M. Morris White, 

Treasuret\ 
Mrs. Edwin C. Goshorn, 

Historian. 
Miss Fanny Bryce Lehmer, 

Vice-President, 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretar}" and the seal of our 

society this — day of , A. D. 1906. 

Lois Buchanan Cassatt, 

President. 
Ellen Waln Harrison, 

Fii'st Vice-President. 
Rebecca Winsor, 

Second Vice-President. 
Lydia S. Hinchman, 

Treasure. 
Caroline Perot Benson, 

Recording Secretary. 
Harriet Felton Peters, 

Coi Tespon di7i g Secretary. 
Augusta McClintock Long acre, 

Histo7'ian. 

Anne Hampton Barnes, 

Registrar. 



PKESERVATION OF NIAGARA FALLS 



RHODE ISLAND, 



LXtiKHKY Ul- CONURE 



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Witness the hand of our president and secretaiy and tlie seal of our 
society this 17th da}^ of January, A. D. 1906. 

Helen Hazard Bacon, 

President. 
Alice Adams Johnson, 

Recording Secretary. 
Sarah P. Babcock, 

Corresjyondin g Secretary. 
Jessie L. Coggeshall, 

Treasurer. 
; Abby Greene Harris Ames, 

Registrar. 
Sarah Franklin Greene, 
Esther Pierce Metcalf, 
Mildred Lewis Williams, 
Anna Utley Wilcox, 

Managers. 

VERMONT. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
societ}" this 19th da}^ of January, A. D. 1906. 

Frances A. W. Kichardson, 

President. 
Caroline M. B. Sm alley, 

Vice-President. 
Gertrude M. Denison, 

Secretary. 

Fannie Theresa Loving Bingham, 

Registrar. 

WEST VIRGINIA. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society this 23d da}^ of January, A. D. 1906. 

(Mrs.) Sarah P, Van Rensselaer, 

President. 
Mrs. E. W. Wilson, 

Yice- President. 
Mrs. A. L. Langdey, 

Corresponding Secretary. 

WISCONSIN. 

Witness the hand of our president and secretary and the seal of our 
society this 3d day of February, A. D. 1906. 

[seal.] Harriet D. Mitchell, 

President. 
Alice W. Camp, 

Recording Secretary. 
Grace A. Young, 

Correspon ding Secretary. 

o 



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